Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Montco remembers fallen police officers
Montgomery County’s law enforcement community gathered under a gray sky on Friday to honor fallen comrades during a somber ceremony of remembrance.
“These noble men became heroes the moment they listened to the calling within themselves and chose to dedicate their lives to protect the safety and freedom of others. We come together to grieve the loss of these brave heroes, to remember their courage and to celebrate their lives,” Lester Neri, president of the Pennsylvania State Lodge FOP, said as he stood at the base of a glistening granite monument inscribed with the names of the 28 law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in the county since 1917.
“Behind every badge there’s a heart. These men were supported by some of the strongest individuals that our community will ever know, the families of law enforcement officers. Know that we are forever grateful for their service to us but also for your service to them,” Neri added, directly addressing the fallen officers’ relatives who attended the ceremony. “You provided them the strength, love and support they needed to lead such honorable lives.”
A hush came over the crowd as relatives of the fallen officers approached the monument and placed carnations at its base in memory of their loved ones.
“We are fortunate that this year in Montgomery County no lives were cut short in the line of duty but we also rededicate ourselves today to remember every single name on that wall. We thank those who served and those who sacrificed and the families who were left behind,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a former county commissioner, told the lunchtime crowd that gathered to witness the dignified observance.
Like sentinels or guardians, dozens of officers in blue, gray and white uniforms, filled the street outside the courthouse, proudly watching over those who attended the ceremony and paying homage to their fallen comrades.
Montgomery County Judge Thomas P. Rogers, a former police officer who spent more than 20 years with the Lower Providence Police Department, said he was “very humbled and deeply honored” to attend the memorial ceremony. As a former instructor at the county’s police academy Rogers said he met hundreds of police officers.
“They possess qualities that few people have: courage, professionalism, integrity, love of the job, protecting the public, and duty and service. For them, it is an honor to be a police officer,” Rogers said.
Rogers said officers are the ones who run toward danger in order to protect others.
“Who runs into danger like this? Who would do that? Only those who are dedicated to service, who took an oath to serve and protect people,” Rogers said. “They go to work each day not knowing whether they will come home. They are ready, willing and able to protect us.”
District Attorney Kevin
R. Steele said police officers face “a dangerous job every day.”
“We also know that the brave men and women who put their lives on the line each day do this in the service of all of us,” said Steele, who recalled a close call by detectives working with the county’s Violent Crime Unit when they were confronted by an armed subject. “What they faced was a gun pointed at them. What they faced was the ultimate danger. We are all grateful that that day, last February, everybody came home alive. But we need to make sure we never forget the dangerousness of the job that all of these officers face, the daily peril that they are in.”
Referring to the “ultimate sacrifice” made by the officers who are memorialized on the monument, Steele said their deaths “leave a hole in the fabric of our society…and it is so important that we remember and honor their remarkable lives.”
Family members of the fallen officers and other spectators appeared somber as bagpipers from Irish Thunder Pipes and Drums, standing on the courthouse steps next to the monument, channeled their mournful rendition of “Amazing Grace” into the chilly, afternoon air.
As the courthouse bell tolled 28 times, in honor of each of the fallen officers, the crowd stood in silence.
County Commissioner Dr. Valerie Arkoosh personally thanked the dozens of officers who lined the street during the ceremony for their service and courage.
“As a commissioner it gives me great comfort to know that you are all out there every single day protecting our communities,” Arkoosh said.
The crowd was solemn, and many spectators bowed their heads with respect, as the names of the fallen officers were read aloud during a memorial reading of the 28 bronze plaques bearing their names on the memorial. Among the fallen officers honored by the monument are: Pottstown Police Officer Thomas W. Corum, who suffered a fatal heart attack Jan. 20, 1964 while struggling with a man wanted for assault; Norristown police officer Thomas M. Barone, who was shot and killed on Oct. 11, 1992, when he responded to a domestic disturbance call; FBI Agent Charles Reed, who worked out of the Lansdale office and was shot and killed on March 22, 1996; and Lower Merion officer Edward M. Setzer, who was shot and killed on Sept. 30, 1988.
It was Barone’s death that spawned the idea for the monument in 1995. The Montgomery County Fraternal Order of Police raised funds to pay for the memorial.
State Rep. Mary Jo Daley, speaking on behalf of the county’s delegation of state legislators, said while the day was “filled with sorrow, it’s also a day to remember and to be grateful for the courage of the officers whose names are on the memorial but also for the police officers who are out on the sidewalks, the streets and the highways in Montgomery County.”
Members of the Philadelphia Police Department presented a rifle salute and buglers played taps to cap the emotion-filled ceremony.
Sara Agnew performed the “Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America.” The Reverend Augustus C. Puleo, of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, presented the invocation and benediction during the hour-long ceremony.